Shloka 12

Devanagari script

कर्णश्न॒ दशभिर्बाणै: पुत्रश्न तव सप्तभि: । दशभिर्वषसेनश्व॒ सौबलश्लापि सप्तभि:

Transliteration

Karṇaś ca daśabhir bāṇaiḥ putraś ca tava saptabhiḥ | daśabhir Vṛṣasenaś ca Saubalaś cāpi saptabhiḥ ||

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ಕರ್ಣನು ಹತ್ತು ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ವಿದ್ಧನಾದನು; ನಿನ್ನ ಪುತ್ರನು ಏಳು ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ. ವೃಷಸೇನನೂ ಹತ್ತು ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ಚುಚ್ಚಲ್ಪಟ್ಟನು; ಸೌಬಲನೂ ಏಳು ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ.

Word by Word

कर्णःKarna

दशभिःwith ten

बाणैःarrows

पुत्रःson

तवyour

सप्तभिःwith seven

दशभिःwith ten

वृषसेनःVrishasena

चand

सौबलःSaubala (son of Subala)

अपिalso

सप्तभिःwith seven

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karṇa

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'tava')

Dhṛtarāṣṭra's son (unspecified here)

Vṛṣasena

Saubala

arrows (bāṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the stark ethic of battlefield life: actions are immediately answered by consequences. Martial skill, duty, and destiny manifest concretely as wounds; the narrative invites reflection on how quickly power and pride are reduced to suffering in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the ongoing exchange of missiles: Karṇa and Vṛṣasena are hit by ten arrows each, while Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son and the Saubala are hit by seven each—an update emphasizing the intensity and precision of the combat.